The present invention relates to one-piece integral fishing rod handles of the through-rod construction type and a method of making the same. More particularly, this invention relates to molded integral one-piece fishing rod handles in which the aftgrip portion, the reel seat portion, and foregrip portion are joined together with the molded handle material so as to form a one-piece integral fishing handle which is lighter, more durable and easier to produce than conventional handles, and which has improved feel characteristics.
Prior art fishing rod handles of the through-rod type construction typically are assembled from a number of individual components which are affixed to a fishing rod blank. Typically, these separate components will include a rod handle aftgrip, a reel seat or handle body for securement of the fishing reel, a pair of flanges to engage the reel foot into engaging members and a foregrip portion. Arbors (i.e. cylindrical washer-like members that have a center hole through which a fishing rod blank is inserted) or tape are typically used, along with adhesive, to position and hold all of these individual components on the fishing rod blank.
The arbors must be dimensioned such that a frictional fit between the arbor, the fishing rod blank and each of the individual rod handle components is obtained. They are slid over the end of a fishing rod blank and inserted into the hollow cavities of the rod handle components and thereafter adhesively secured to both the rod blank and rod handle components. As such, the outside diameter of the arbor is dictated by the inside dimensions of the handle components. Arbors also often do not provide support along the entire length of the reel seat. Rod handles assembled by this method require a large inventory of relatively precisely dimensional and machined individual handle components for manufacture. Also, this method of assembly is quite labor intensive due to all these separate components.
Rod handle bodies of the conventional type are formed by injection molding and are typically hollow. These conventional mold handles generally utilize a core pin during the molding process that produces a precise inside diameter of the hollow handle body which must be matched to the outside diameter of the rod blank for assembly if the handle body has an exposed area for finger contact with the blank. As rod blank diameters vary with the many type of action rods that are produced from a factory, large minimum production runs of the handle body are required for each rod blank size. Since one size handle cannot be used to produce completed rods of different action assembly, the rod factory inventory must be large.
Arbors are also generally used to fill the void between the outside diameter of the blank and the inside diameter of the handle body. Quite often these arbors must be drilled after assembly into the handle body to ensure an accurately sized and aligned hole for the fishing rod blank.
The drilling of conventional handles can be difficult for a number of reasons. One, the drill bit tends to move radially during a drilling operation when the drill bit passes from a solid area to an exposed or open area within the handle body such as the arbor hole, hollow reel body or the finger contact area of the hollow handle. This movement often leads to an uneven rod blank hole. Secondly, the material of the rod handle, such as graphite may not lend itself to easy drilling. The home rod builder is thus unable to custom fit a plastic handle to his favorite rod blank because he may not possess the adequate machinery for boring a consistent diameter hole in the rod handle. The above methods of producing fishing rod handles are therefore also extremely laborious and time-consuming.
The present invention is directed to a molded one-piece integral fishing rod handle and a method of molding which avoids the aforementioned shortcomings.
In accordance with an important aspect of the present invention, an improved fishing rod handle is provided which includes a preformed reel seat, means for securement of a fishing reel thereon and a molded handle which substantially surrounds the reel seat and adheres thereto to provide a one-piece integral fishing rod handle. The handle is molded from a rigid material which can be easily drilled to accept varying sizes of fishing rod blanks.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a mold assembly is provided having a mold cavity in the configuration of a fishing rod handle which includes means to engage preformed individual rod handle components assembled onto a mold core pin such that the core pin and the preformed components are accurately registered within the mold cavity.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, means for reinforcing portions of the molded rod handle having reduced thickness, such as finger triggers, is provided.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a one-piece integral rod handle is molded on a mold core pin which has a diameter slightly less than that of the final fishing rod blank such that after molding the core pin cavity in the rod handle can then be subsequently reamed to accept any size rod blank.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a one-piece integral rod handle having a dual composition with improved fishing "feel" can be formed by first molding a rigid base handle portion onto the rod blank or core pin using a high density, rigid molding resin and then subsequently molding an outer softer surface covering for the rod handle using a low density, resilient molding resin.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved one-piece integral fishing rod handle of the through-rod construction type.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a molding method for molding one-piece integral fishing rod handles directly onto fishing rod blanks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solid one-piece fishing rod handle wherein the molded portion of the rod grip substantially surrounds and adheres to a preformed reel seat portion and rod blank to form an integral and complete fishing rod.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a solid one-piece integral fishing rod handle for use in the assembly of fishing rods of the through-rod type of construction which can be easily drilled out to accept different sizes of fishing rod blanks.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for molding a one-piece integral dual composition fishing rod handle in which a rod handle rigid base molded section is covered with a resilient outer surface molded section to supply greater comfort, sensitivity and durability to the fishing rod handle.
In accordance with yet another object of the present invention, means for registering individual rod handle components within a mold cavity are provided such that those components are accurately aligned within the mold cavity to provide an integrally molded rod handle.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.